Kuang Dao slammed Hu San to the ground, forcing him still. Everyone behind immediately stopped in their tracks.
Inside Jian Dan's sea of consciousness, she spotted two men hidden a mile ahead in the forest. Both had thick arms and wide waists, their upper bodies covered in armor while their lower halves wore beast hide skirts. Their exposed skin gleamed bronze, muscles bulging. One look and it was obvious they were body cultivators. At the moment, though, they were lightly snoring, clearly slacking off.
After gathering everyone together, Jian Dan brushed her fingers across her hair and whispered,
"They've got numbers on their side. If we charge in blindly, it won't do us any good. Let Senior Sister Jian Jing and me go in first."
Jian Mao frowned, clearly unwilling to let two female cultivators take the risk. But when Jian Jing heard her, her eyes lit up. She grinned and said, "Junior Sister's idea isn't bad. Catch the leader first, and the rest will crumble. We can use our identities as female cultivators to get close. If they don't fall for it, we kill them outright. Once their commander's gone, the rest will be easy."
Seeing that Senior Sister Jian Jing didn't object, Jian Dan turned her gaze toward the men, silently giving them a chance to speak up if they disagreed.
"Only fifty people. We can handle it." Jian Chun spoke up.
"For now we're still lingering on the outskirts. Best not to have casualties. Preserving our strength comes first. Since we can save effort, why bother with a head-on clash?" Jian Jing added. Her words carried more weight. No one raised another objection, which was as good as silent agreement.
"In that case, let's hear your plan." Jian Mao, seeing there was no resistance, moved the discussion forward.
"Hu San and another guy will take me and Senior Sister inside, pretending to surrender. Say their squad was treasure hunting when they ran into us, there was a fight, some of them died, and they captured us. But their squad's been heavily reduced, so they're offering two female cultivators to Mao Wu for protection."
Hu San's eyes went wide at the outrageous story. This woman was basically setting up Mao Wu's entire group for destruction.
"When Hu San brings us into their camp, Senior Brother, you lead the others in from the outside. Don't make noise, just slip in and start cutting. Once we've got Mao Wu, we'll coordinate from the inside."
Jian Dan picked up a branch and started sketching on the ground, marking the enemy's hidden sentries. Then she reminded everyone, "Senior Brothers, don't hold back. This isn't a spar, it's life or death. Strike to kill. If you can't, at least don't let them raise an alarm."
"Got it. We can handle that much." Jian Xu arched his brow with a smirk. Everyone here had seen blood before. They were all core disciples of the sect, so naturally they were cautious in this kind of situation.
Since they were her fellow sect members, Jian Dan had confidence in them. She turned toward Hu San and the other silent man, smiling brightly. "Hu San, time to prove your worth. You know how to act, right?"
Hu San's lips trembled, and he stammered, "B-big boss, maybe think this through again? Mao Wu's been ruling this area as a body cultivator for quite a while. Even people in the inner ring give him face. Are you really sure you can handle him?"
"Oh? Didn't you notice? We're all body cultivators too."
"N-no, I didn't notice much…"
Yesterday when they'd clashed, he and his crew couldn't even trap them. His leader's head went flying before they knew it, so how could they stick around long enough to study if these people were sword cultivators or body cultivators?
"Well, now you know. Play along. If you do well, maybe we'll take you into our squad. That's still better than wandering alone, isn't it?"
"Y-yes, yes, boss!"
'I still had a partner, and today's mess is all thanks to you lot!' Hu San cursed inwardly, but on the surface he nodded furiously.
Just then Jian Dan used her sword to lift the chin of the silent man. Her eyes flickered as she smiled and said,"Not bad looking. Why're you keeping your head down?"
Senior Sister Jian Jing also noticed him for the first time. She glanced over, surprise flashing in her eyes before she agreed, "True, he's pretty handsome. How'd I miss him yesterday?"
The moment she spoke, the other men shifted uneasily. They too suddenly realized this guy's presence had been ridiculously low, almost like he was deliberately hiding. If Jian Lu hadn't reminded them, they might never have noticed.
Yu Linhai's heart sank. The moment the woman made a move, he knew things were bad. But the tip of her sword was already pressed to his throat, sharp killing intent slicing his skin until blood beaded. He had no doubt that if he so much as twitched, she'd take his life in a single stroke. Yu Linhai clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and raised his head along the line of her sword.
"An immortal hiding among an outer squad like this. That's gotta be tough on you."
Her words made Yu Linhai's pupils contract. He had no idea what gave him away, but somehow this woman had seen through him.
Jian Mao and the others were shaken too, but they kept calm, acting as though they'd expected it. They left the talking to Jian Lu and simply listened.
Truth was, Jian Dan hadn't noticed anything strange at first. It was only when they neared the enemy's sentries earlier that this man suddenly extended his divine sense ahead of her. That instantly set off alarms in her mind, so she halted the group.
She waited until they regrouped to confront him. If she'd exposed him on the spot, he might've escaped or made enough noise to alert Mao Wu's men, ruining their infiltration. She wasn't certain he was an immortal, after all, she herself could extend divine sense despite not being one. Her accusation was a bluff, but to her surprise, she hit the mark. That made things a lot more interesting.
"What do you want?" Yu Linhai asked grimly.
"Heh, you're funny. You're the one hiding, you're the one tailing us, and now you're asking what we want? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Yu Linhai fell silent. How was he supposed to explain that he was just recovering from injuries while dodging pursuit?
"Hu San, why don't you introduce your fine teammate?" Jian Dan suddenly said.
Hu San blinked, stunned, then swallowed hard, frantically trying to recall if he'd ever wronged the guy. Called on, he quickly straightened and began stammering,
"He said his name's Yu Linhai. Boss picked him up during a resource trade in the inner ring. He was injured at the time. Said he used to be in another treasure-hunting squad but offended an immortal from the inner ring and got hunted. Boss didn't want him at first, but…"
"But greed won out, right? He bought his spot with resources." Jian Jing cut in with a knowing smile.
"Yeah. He handed over everything he had, just begged to recover and join us. Our squad was short on numbers, so boss let him stay. Once he healed, he followed us a few times. He even saved boss once, though he got hurt again, so after that he usually stayed behind in the cave."
Hu San scratched his head and added, "He never asked for much either. Since he didn't go out, he didn't take a share of loot, so everyone tolerated him. Didn't expect…"